Mielke testimony distorted

Accusations made by candidate John Roskelley, and the story portraying Commissioner Todd Mielke’s testimony at a recent Senate hearing, are blatantly misleading.

I was part of a delegation of elected officials and business leaders in Olympia during Mielke’s testimony on SB 6154. Your headline, and Roskelley’s comments, imply Mielke testified in favor of a new fee for land use appeals. Wrong.

Anyone aware of the legislative process knows that bills have a number of sections addressing a variety of issues. Roskelley should know that, but he rarely set foot in Olympia to represent his constituents’ interest as a county commissioner.

Mielke testified on one subject of the bill pertaining to a legal definition of who has standing to file land-use appeals. He testified that the same definition used in 99 percent of the legal proceedings in this state should be the same one used in land-use decisions.

Only one group testified against this bill, Futurewise, a group well known for advocating for additional regulations on private property owners. Roskelley’s bias against private property owners has not changed.

Al French

Spokane County Commissioner

Spokane